Anglia105E

Several days work on the baseboard for the railway line have produced some good results. Two panels of 3 mm Foamex board have been attached together using double sided tape, so that the 6 mm baseboard mates up to the main baseboards of this Hooper & Co. factory diorama. Then a strip of 6 mm foamex board was mounted on top of the baseboard, also using double sided tape, both having been coated with Oatmeal colour emulsion. Once everything was carefully lined up, I applied a coating of PVA glue to the strip, onto which the length of Peco track was mounted, and the level crossing assembly was pushed up to the track rails. While the PVA glue was still wet, the Woodland Scenics Medium Buff Ballast was sprinkled along the length of track. This will be allowed to dry overnight, and the excess ballast can be brushed off later. Here are a few photos showing the progress so far . . . There is a 1:43 scale Series 1 Land Rover with a trailer that I had 3D printed some time ago, along with the O gauge Pannier Tank steam loco and the Lima Great Western passenger coach. David

Thanks Paul . . . I know what you mean about a shortage of good figures in your 1:64 scale, and to a certain extent this is also true of 1:43 scale. The gentleman in the flat cap, and also the lady in the head scarf pushing a pram are both professionally painted (not by me) and consequently they are silly prices. My philosophy with realistic dioramas is that either we can use extremely realistic figures to good effect, or best not to use any figures at all if they are of poor quality . . . You have the problem of finding farm figures, and I struggle to find 1950's figures rather than modern ones. David

These two photographs show the elderly gentleman wearing his flat cap, and he is standing alongside the Great Western passenger coach . . . The O gauge / 1:43 scale steam locomotive is having some weathering work done, with dark rust using Humbrol Weathering Powder, and the railway line area of this diorama is receiving some further attention, in terms of painting and track ballast. David

Mark . . . I remember you starting this project at the beginning of 2019, and now you have 36 pages of build history. What an achievement ! I have met a professional scale model builder who lives local to me, but you sir are of a rare breed of superhuman, if you don't mind me saying so. This incredible level of detail that goes into your models, and especially this Lola T-70, shows us just what can be done when you really understand every single component of such a fine piece of automotive engineering. I don't believe that you can put a price on a model like this . . . All the man hours, the materials, the research and the absolute care with which you have assembled the model car, leaves me somewhat speechless . . . Thank you for posting the detail of the whole project. David

You have a recipe for disaster there Tony . . . Cat + computer keyboard + blades + workbench = ' OMG + BOOM ' David

It is so interesting to see all of these model building work space scenarios, and what seems to be a common factor . . . regardless of how much bench space we have, or what size room we are talking about . . . there is only around one foot square of actual empty space in which to work, and sometimes less. I have so much ' stuff ' piled up on what should be the workbench that I have to build models on my 3D printer table, which is quite a small table. A friend of mine who lives across the road is a professional model builder, and when I visit him for advice every so often I see that his well equipped workshop is completely overwhelmed with boxes, partly built projects, tools and materials, scribbled notes and drawings on bits of paper, and all manner of clutter . . . leaving him with only about a square foot of real space in which to work. It is so funny how we men of a certain age, say between 50 and 70 years of age, are able to turn out scale models that are assembled and painted to a high standard, and all within such a tiny space on the ' bench ' David

Here is a photograph of a 1936 - 1938 Rolls-Royce 25 / 30 which is parked outside the main entrance to the Hooper & Co. factory, and also a photograph of the Pannier Tank steam locomotive pulling a Great Western passenger coach as it is passing by Imperial Motors . . . David

I really like to see an old kit that has been built and painted so well . . . At first glance, I thought that this must be a 1:25 scale kit, but no it is 1:32 You mentioned that the old plastic did not like the modern cement, and no clear plastic window parts ! Well done . . . you have done a marvellous job on this one. The cream coloured background to the photos works well also. I do like 1950's American cars in particular. David

It is late evening and Imperial Motors is closed for the day . . . A customer has parked his Ford Cortina outside the main gate, so that the garage staff can drive the car into their workshop when they open for business the next morning . . . David

You are correct Ken . . . The scale of Corgi and Dinky toy cars is approximately 1:43, but sometimes closer to 1:50 This why I tend to buy Oxford Diecast or Truescale, or Neo and Lansdowne model cars. David

Thank you Ken . . . These are 1:43 scale model cars, buildings and figures, with O gauge model steam loco, carriage and level crossing. David

Thanks Paul . . . The following three photographs were taken shortly before the young mother with her pram turned the corner at the telephone box, which leads from Western Avenue onto Duke's Road . . . The refuse bins have been put out for collection on this particular day, and someone has left the door of the telephone box slightly open . . . David

Thanks for posting this YouTube video Paul, and I have just watched and listened to all 11 minutes and 28 seconds of it . . . I really enjoyed your interesting narrative, and your voice is entirely suitable for such a presentation. Your accent from the Maine area of the US settles nicely upon English ears. I say this because there are certain American accents that don't sound so good to us ! Through this video you have shown all the elements of the farm diorama, and I can see how much work has gone into each and every building, the models, the figures, the trees, plants and grasses. Those scratch built models are particularly good and the quarry area works really well also. I shall make sure that I have another look at this video, just in case I missed some detail. You must be very pleased with this whole project, including the video, and I hope you get lots of views. David

Here we see the Duke's Road area of the diorama, where the horse and cart is trundling slowly past the bus stop, just across the road from the Hooper factory. The man with his cart has finished all of his coal deliveries for the day, as the evening approaches. There is a lady wearing a head scarf pushing a pram on her way home from the shops. Just another ordinary day . . . David

Further progress with the Hooper & Co. factory diorama has been achieved over the past couple of days . . . The railway level crossing is completed, apart from weathering the ramp sections. The pannier tank loco is almost completed, and having applied some enamel grey primer to the brass parts, these need a final coat of the darker grey wash. I have tidied up the 1:43 scale diorama and the O gauge railway line section needs some additional work to merge it with the whole setting. Preparation is under way to produce some advanced photography, and also video filming of the factory diorama model. David

Your 1951 Chevy Bel Air build has turned out really well Andreas, and the paint colours are perfect for the period . . . This build of yours reminds me of the 1953 Hudson Hornet that I built, but I did not cut out the doors and trunk lid on the kit by Moebius. I agree, that the early 1950's American cars had such good styling, and I must build a Chevy Bel Air at some stage. David

Over the past couple of days I have constructed two ramp sections for the O gauge level crossing, as well as two sets of steps for the footway. So far I have fabricated one small gate for access to the pedestrian footway, and there will be a second small gate done shortly. These are made from matchsticks and I used balsa for the posts. The smaller gates will be painted the same colour as the larger gates, while the ramps and steps will most likely be grey in colour. The paraffin lamps and the red circular boards seem to look right. I found the brass bristle brush to be very good for creating the worn timber effect, and certainly the grey wash works well. Maybe a couple of years ago I would have used matt brown for the planking (not good). David

Yes Paul, that is probably true . . . So, what do you need the handrail knobs for ? Some aspect of your farm diorama ? Here is a drawing of the part in question . . .

Hi Paul . . . Yes, those handrail knobs are available from a local supplier of model railway fittings, and they are available in short, medium and long sizes. The ones listed as being steel were the ones I chose in medium size, and then I ordered some 0.7 mm brass rod from a different supplier. The brass rod was bent to shape, and then threaded through the handrail knobs that were pushed into drilled holes in the sides of the loco boiler pannier tanks. I don't know if you have a supplier in the US who sells these fittings, but here is the link to the one in England . . . https://slatersplastikard.com/ David

Having carried out my first attempt at a trial fitting of the handrail, I find that the 300 mm length of 0.7 mm brass rod is slightly too short. The handrail on both sides is 10 mm too short, but I do have an idea. Some reference photos of Pannier Tank locos show two handrail knobs on the cab, so I could add a second knob and simply insert a 10 mm length of brass rod on both sides of the cab. The bend at the boiler front for the handrail was the same curve as a Vallejo paint bottle as luck would have it ! Started preparing component parts for the level crossing, which includes planks cut from lolly sticks . . . I will have 3 mm thick pieces of foamex board under the planks to bring them up to the level of the rails. I shall add small gates to one side of the crossing for a narrow pedestrian footway, and also the curved channel for the wheels at the ends of the large gates. The gates and posts will be painted white, with red circular boards facing the roadway. David

Ricky . . . When I click on a newly posted comment to a topic, I want to be taken to the bottom of the last page, but . . . usually it takes me to the top of the page, or even to a page that is several pages before the last page. I find this is quite unpredictable, so maybe it is not unusual ? David

Welcome to the MCM forum Oscar . . . Liking your Chevy pickup, and that is an interesting paint colour. David

The two white metal loco figures are almost done. One is the driver and the fireman has a separate shovel which I have super glued in place. Each figure has a coat of Humbrol enamel grey primer and then a coat of Vallejo acrylic for the detail. They may need a coat of Vallejo matt varnish because even gentle handling fetches the paint off in places. In the following photos, there is a kneeling railway worker that I had already, and he has been professionally painted so not one of mine. I have examined the decals in advance of applying them shortly, and I have picked up some handrail knobs in steel from Slater's . . . They were happy to refund me for the sleepers and chairs that I didn't use. I have some 0.3 mm brass rod for the handrails in 30 mm lengths. Work is about to commence on the scratch built level crossing, which needs careful calculation. David

Thanks Pat . . . That is what I was hoping to create. There will be a low wooden fence between Masons Green Lane and the railway line. The track needs some ballast, and maybe some tufts of grass among the gravel and the sleepers. David

That is such an extremely realistic model that you have built Martin . . . At first glance, I thought you were showing a photo of the real vehicle that your model idea was based upon, so that is how good this is ! Your model building and painting skills are top notch. David